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Forums > Home› Star Trek Online General Discussion

The Way NPCs Address You

tiro100tiro100 Member Posts: 73 Arc User
edited November 2014 in Star Trek Online General Discussion
This is more for the way that the Foundry Missions are coded, as I haven't run into this on the main story missions.

I know that it has been brought up and requested that NPC's should refer to your characters as the chosen title instead of rank, for those who wish to be referred to as, for example, Captain instead of what their actual level rank is, such as Vice Admiral. I don't know the first thing about coding, but I imagine it would take a lot more than I would first think. So as cool as that would be, I'm not going to push that right now.

However, at the very least, can we PLEASE make it so if you're above the rank of Captain, the NPCs just call you Admiral? I can understand them calling you by your rank, but it really kills the immersion for me when instead of saying "Thank you Admiral," they say "Thank you Rear Admiral, Lower Half."
Playing STO on and off since January 2nd, 2011!
Post edited by tiro100 on

Comments

  • starkaosstarkaos Member Posts: 11,556 Arc User
    edited November 2014
    Variables can work in weird and disturbing ways. Assuming that all relevant dialog has the <rank> variable, a possible fix could be <rank> = <title>. However, <rank> could also be used as an equipment requirement. So setting your title to Captain, could cause <rank>=<title>=Captain which means that all equipment above Captain rank would be rendered useless. Therefore, to fix this problem would require going through each piece of dialog and change it.
  • tiro100tiro100 Member Posts: 73 Arc User
    edited November 2014
    starkaos wrote: »
    Variables can work in weird and disturbing ways. Assuming that all relevant dialog has the <rank> variable, a possible fix could be <rank> = <title>. However, <rank> could also be used as an equipment requirement. So setting your title to Captain, could cause <rank>=<title>=Captain which means that all equipment above Captain rank would be rendered useless. Therefore, to fix this problem would require going through each piece of dialog and change it.

    Which sounds like a real hassle unless dialogue and equipment are already two different sets of code as far as rank.
    Playing STO on and off since January 2nd, 2011!
  • paxfederaticapaxfederatica Member Posts: 1,496 Arc User
    edited November 2014
    As a Foundry author, I typically follow the "Janeway rule"* when it comes to this. That is, your BOffs should always address the player by the title of Captain (or Commander, for Romulans), not "sir" or "ma'am" (except in the crunch :) ) or by the player's rank if it's not Captain (or, again, Commander for Romulans). Other NPCs can still address the player by your rank or whatever the story calls for. This would be a good standard for Cryptic dialogue as well.

    * referring to an early scene in "Caretaker" when Janeway corrects Ensign Kim on this point
    STAR TREK ONLINE: THE PEACEMAKERS
    My Foundry missions | My STO Wiki page | My Twitter home page
  • robert359robert359 Member Posts: 355 Arc User
    edited November 2014
    I can't believe that the way NPCs address you would mess up the item rank system. Both should be separate, each looking at your level. To have NPCs look at your title should not change the items.

    But god and maybe a dev know how it is coded.

    Has a Dev ever said?
    "The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war."
    Douglas MacArthur - Quote on the dedication plaque of the U.S.S. Ranger NCC-97332-A Armitage class Fleet Heavy Strike Wing Escort.
  • tuvix1911tuvix1911 Member Posts: 11 Arc User
    edited November 2014
    paxfederatica wrote: »
    "sir" or "ma'am"

    Sorry to quibble over a tiny point, but: the only shortened honorific address for a superior officer in Starfleet is "sir". Call your even-keel female SO "ma'am", you're liable to get a raised eyebrow. Call your battle axe female SO "ma'am", you're up for a chewing-out and/or scut duty for a month.
  • warpangelwarpangel Member Posts: 9,427 Arc User
    edited November 2014
    Well, NPCs addressing us by title rather than rank would at least be good for a few cheap laughs ("Moist," "Smashed," "Gingerbro," etc).

    And then I'd be back to skipping it all without reading it.
  • paxfederaticapaxfederatica Member Posts: 1,496 Arc User
    edited November 2014
    tuvix1911 wrote: »
    Sorry to quibble over a tiny point, but: the only shortened honorific address for a superior officer in Starfleet is "sir". Call your even-keel female SO "ma'am", you're liable to get a raised eyebrow. Call your battle axe female SO "ma'am", you're up for a chewing-out and/or scut duty for a month.

    When Janeway first meets Kim in "Caretaker", at first Kim calls her "sir", but then she specifically tells him she doesn't like being called "sir" - she prefers "ma'am" (again, "in the crunch") or "Captain".

    Considering that, at that point in the episode, Voyager had not yet been flung across the galaxy away from the rest of Starfleet, that tells me "ma'am" had already gained at least some measure of acceptability as a shortened honorific in Starfleet circa 2371 (i.e. it wasn't something specific to Voyager that came about because of their predicament).
    STAR TREK ONLINE: THE PEACEMAKERS
    My Foundry missions | My STO Wiki page | My Twitter home page
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